1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus and a control method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
When data processing is performed by software, a central processing unit (CPU) bears a heavy burden. Thus, a conventional data processing apparatus generally includes a hardware accelerator that performs data processing.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-354064 discusses an apparatus including a processing unit that performs protocol processing by hardware and a processing unit that performs protocol processing by software.
Internet protocol security (IPSec) processing has been conventionally performed by a data processing apparatus. Here, an “IPSec” refers to a protocol used for performing authentication processing and encryption processing in a network layer, which is the third layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model.
If a data processing apparatus is provided with a hardware accelerator for performing IPSec processing, the processing load on a CPU can be reduced. However, in this case, it is necessary to always keep the data processing apparatus powered on, which may increase the power consumption of the entire system.